MOGADISHU, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said Friday it seeks 144 million U.S. dollars to assist more than six million people in Somalia affected by ravaging drought.

A girl cleans her feet before going into class at school near a camp for internally displaced people from drought hit areas in Dollow, Somalia April 3, 2017. (File photo: VCG)

The UN agency said in its Action Plan 2019 that the figure includes two million people who need direct food security and livelihood support.

"This Action Plan builds on priorities set within the 2019 HRP (Humanitarian Response Plan), adjusting FAO's activities and targets to address the growing needs in areas worst impacted by the drought," said the UN agency.

According to FAO, poor rains and extended drought over multiple seasons have had a major impact on rural livelihoods and food security in Somalia, pushing the country to the brink of famine, just five years after the crisis of 2011 that claimed the lives of over a quarter of a million people.

FAO said the plan aims to increase food access and protect rural livelihoods, through cash-for-work and emergency livelihood packages for farmers, pastoralists and coastal communities, integrating unconditional cash transfers wherever possible.

It also seeks to protect livestock assets, through supplementary animal feeding, water trucking, supply of water bladders and countrywide supportive treatment, followed by vaccination against contagious caprine pleuropneumonia.

The UN agency also aims to mitigate new shocks, including by providing regional stocks of veterinary supplies, river embankment repair, and strengthening local preparedness against food-chain threats.

"The prioritized activities are time-bound to seasonal calendars and are therefore extremely urgent. Cash assistance must be scaled up rapidly to save lives, especially in remote rural areas," FAO said.